Besides wildfires, a ten times increase in the incidence of coccidioidomycosis or valley fever from just 15 years ago in the Southwestern United States coincides with the droughts and dry weather of a changing climate. Spores for the disease live in the soil. The hotter, dryer air more quickly turns dirt to dust that is lifted into the air along with the spores that can be easily inhaled. It can cause severe neurological damage and even death. Genetics may be a factor as most people infected never exhibit symptoms, but it now strikes upwards of 20,000 people per year and the dustier conditions are likely, at least in part, responsible. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have called it a silent epidemic.
See also: InClimate 62, March 4 (Scratch that Itch)